The Tomb of the Dark Paladin Read Online Free PDF Page B

watching some children as they tried to make a snowman from the melting snow. People walked the streets of Obyn going about their business, ox carts and wagons carried wares to and from market, two members of the Cavalry of the Hand ambled along atop their massive war bulls, steel-tipped horns gleaming in the sunlight.
    "Gennevera, why do you seem so--" Carym began, but the sudden sound of a man screaming interrupted him. Carym and Genn both looked down the cobblestone boulevard toward the sound. Everyone in the area heard it, even the children stopped their play to protect their ears from the frightful shrieking.
    "That's horrible!" said Genn, covering her ears. "It sounds like someone is dying!"
    Carym watched as the mounted knights looked at each other, then took off toward the sound, the tips of their spears reflecting the bright winter sun. A chorus of hideous howling sounds rose above even the sound of the thundering hooves as the knights rode toward the perceived danger.
    "It sounds like a pack of wolves!"
    "In broad daylight?" asked Genn, fearfully. Carym knew why she was concerned. No ordinary wolf pack would risk hunting in a big city like Obyn, especially during daylight hours.
    "They've found us..." he said with dread, she nodded. He didn't know precisely what, but the sound could only have been from one of Umber's Shadowhunters.
    Carym knew with solemn certainty that someone had just died, and it was likely that many more would die before the day was out if the Shadowfyr's hunters were on the trail. Gennevera's expression hardened just then, and it seemed to Carym that the kind woman he knew at the beginning of the journey had just vanished, replaced by a doughty fighter.
    "We should go," she said, rising calmly to her feet. As she stood, the afternoon sun shone on her raven tresses and the silver trim of her maroon robes. A cudgel, fashioned from the leg of a wasp dragon vanquished long ago in the Underllars, was in her hand. Carym rose to follow her, leaving a few coins on the table. The pair walked quickly to their horses. A few of the other patrons who were enjoying the winter sun nearby noticed Genn's attire and Carym's own dark blue tabard with a silver palm and dove emblem. Carym just nodded to the citizens.
    They reached their tethered horses and mounted quickly as the sounds of a pitched battle drifted down the boulevard.
    "Carym!" called Genn, nodding in the wrong direction. To Carym it seemed she wanted to ride back to the Tower for help; Carym knew that they would never make the half-day journey in time.
    "No," he said calmly, his mind shifting into that battle state where he acted purely on training and instinct. "It's the Shadowfyr's minions, and they have come for me."
    "But we--" the sound of men fighting mixed with the shrill howls of whatever beasts were stalking them interrupted her. The howling stopped abruptly and she shivered as a poignant silence filled the streets.
    "By the sound of it, those brave knights have lost their fight. We have an advantage of higher ground, we will fight here."
    Carym turned his horse and trotted quickly back to the inn and shouted at the patrons to move inside. He trotted up and down the street, ordering people to clear the road. A squad of the Rhi's own guardsmen jogged to the intersection where Carym and Genn were preparing to fight.
    "Clear the road!" ordered one of the guardsmen, probably a squad leader. "This is no business for the Hand!"
    "Sergeant," Carym said as he walked his horse over to the man. Fear began to prick his soul. The incessant pursuit by the Shadow's minions triggered a sense of paranoia and he struggled to stay calm. "You won't be able to fight these things alone, we must work together."
    "I see," the man said, scowling even as citizens continued to flee. "Your High and Mighty Knightship thinks that us lowly peasants can't handle a pack of nuisance dogs!"
    Carym backed away as he saw what created the disturbance slinking up the slope of